Photo Tips

It's Not so Wordless Wednesday hosted by  Seven Clown Circus and I haven't participated in a few weeks because I've been way too busy.  I decided to join back in this week since things have semi-slowed down...Oh & I've peppered this post with Random photos from this weekend of our Cousin Kinley...It really fits into this post's theme in no way whatsoever except that it needed some eye candy :)  And if you'd like to see more of her, go check out her Mamma's Blog.

Here's a sweet Photo of Kinley eating beanbeans  (greenbeans)

Most of you who visit my blog know that I have a 365 blog where I post a photo a day...or at least try to :)   My Friend Laura, who is also a photo lover, ran across an article and thought she'd send it my way since it's all about 365 blogs and she knew I had one.  I thought it was so Great that I would share it with everyone!!

So if you've have a 365 blog or thought of doing one here are some tips....also Go visit my 365 blog and give me advice, tips, or ya know..praise.  Really though critique me, I love the knowledge!!

These tips came from the article 11 Tips to Succeed   by Jim Goldstein

1. Maintain A Heightened Awareness

Every second of your life keep your eyes opened for a photo op!  Look for the obscure moments or observations that you normally wouldn't notice.  Training your brain to always look for a photo op is a great way that your 365 project can help you improve as a photographer. 

2. Always Have Your Camera With You

This is something I've had to learn the hard way!  When I don't have my camera I ALWAYS see a perfect Photo opportunity!  Remember, if you don't have your camera, you can't take a picture...pretty obvious :)

Kinley feeding Leah Mac and Cheese.

3. There Is No Time Like the Present

Oh I've totally disregarded this point and regretted it so much. 
Never say, ‘I’ll take a photo of that later.” or “I’ll take a photo of that on my way back.”   Take the photo NOW because the next time you see the object the lighting may not be same or the object may be gone and you miss that perfect shot.

4. Train Your Eye To See Light
"Learn how to get the most out of the light whether sunny, overcast, or any thing in between. Learning how to get the most out of high contrast and low contrast lighting situations is a great way to broaden your photographic opportunities."

I'm learning how to do this...and even though I may get 100 horrible photos, I figure out what type of lighting works, what doesn't work, and what settings to use.

Kinley Tried to feed me Mac and Cheese

5. Experiment! Don’t Stay In Your Comfort Zone

Take photos you have never taken before...Take a risk, if the photo sucks..delete it, no harm done right!  Taking the same photos over and over again won't improve your photography and won't increase interest in your work. 

6. Make Use of Weekly Themes 

Oh I am totally going to start doing this!! I'm running low on ideas and this is something that would totally help me.  Just Think... I could do a "Cowboy" week and do all cowboy shots...or "Chocolate Children" week and do all of the dogs!  Oh I could go on and on and on...

7. Plan Ahead & Write Down Ideas

Rather than wait for inspiration to find you plan ahead and write down ideas for future photos in a notebook. This is great practice for normal photo shoots and will reinforce creative thinking.  

I also read on somone's blog...though I can't remember whose it was... that it's a good Idea to snap a photo of the paper you wrote your ideas on.  The photo will always be in your camera so you can refer back to it on your viewfinder during a photo shoot and you don't look like a amature to your clients by carrying around an "Idea book."

Kinley Loved Melissa's Necklace

8. Edit & Post-Process Every Week

In order to avoid backlogs edit & post-process you photos weekly if not daily.  For many taking photos is the easy part, but editing & processing the photos is the challenge.  This isn't a problem for me because I love to edit photos but I guess some people don't...gasp!

 
9. Add Notes to Your Photos
 Tell the reader why you took the photo, what the photo means to you, and the EXIF Data...thanks to Tammy I now add the EXIF data!!  Anecdotal stories are also great information to look back on. Understanding how, why and when you photographed your subject provides insight to your creative thinking that you can’t get from EXIF data.

10. Get Into A Rhythm & Have Fun
Make sure to have fun during your year long photo project. The second it becomes work...it quits being fun.  Rember..take your camera with you everywhere!  Take photos on your lunch break or give your self 10 extra mintues on your way to work so you can stop and take a photo of something interesting!

11. Start Today

Who cares if you start January 1st??? Start ANY day of the year!! Start today and let me know so I can link you to my 365 Page!!

Dad Gave Kinley some Cool Whip...She was about to smile but I caught the initial expression, which was shock.

Thanks for reading my long post! Have a great Week

Family

Tonight I'm typing to you from my old bedroom at my parents house.  It's so nice to have such wonderful parents that are willing to take care of you 24 hours a day until you feel better.  Sean came down last night and today to keep me company but had to go back to work on the Circle T.

Right now I'm watching  The Lindsey Lohan version of The Parent Trap..(ya know before she was a crackhoe)  and am so nauseous that I really wish I would've kept on the little motion sickness patch they told me to keep on...and they pumped me so full of air during surgery that I think if the computer wasn't in my lap I would float up to the ceiling.   .... I may or may not be a little loopy from pain medication...Now that I re-read that paragraph I'm leaning towards the "may" side...

So before I left for the hospital I took some pictures of my Christmas tree and some of my favorite ornaments.  I was planning on doing a Christmas post about it but I have mysteriously lost my pictures....how do you loose pictures on a digital camera??  I still have the card, the pictures are just MIA... hm??

SOOO instead of Christmas ornament pictures you get to hear all about my Family Reunion we had last weekend.

We had my Dad's Dad's side of the family over to our barn for a family reunion. Dad has a nice barn with living quarters, you can kind of see it in the background of the photo...so don't like think we had a family reunion down in the ol' hay barn and square danced or something..we aren't that backwards.  ...anyways.   There were about 55 of us, the youngest in attendance was 1 year old and the oldest was my Great Grandmother Gladys at 96 years young.  (She's the little one on the couch)  She is still in good health and great mental health as well.  She was over heard saying at one point during the day, 'Well I guess I started all of this mess.'  And she did, six children multiplied into over 55 people!!

 Left to right, Susie (My aunt), Erin, Kinley, Great Grandma, and MawMaw

Kinley was the only Great Great Grandchild there and they took a 5 generation photo.  My Grandfather Passed away in 2003 so we substituted his generation with my MawMaw (His wife)  So even though it's not Blood 5 generations  It's pretty dang close!



Oh and I'd just like to give a special Shout Out to my Aunt Sherree who is a very dedicated Blog Reader!!  I just wanted to say hello and let you know how wonderful it was to see you!!  Now.... I'd like to zoom in on our family photo and we can all laugh "with" Aunt Sherree and her attempt to get Kinley to Smile...apparently K wasn't having it...  This photo made me smile because it shows Aunt Sherree's personality, Happy and uplifting No Matter what!!! Love you and See you at Christmas!!



Have a Great Day everyone!  Maybe you'll get to see my tree tomorrow...if I find those photos...

Wordful Wednesday

Ok I'm in a slump on things to post about,  I think it has something to do with this time change.  I get home at dark and it totally sucks the life out of me.  I would like to go outside and take pretty photos and just enjoy the outdoors.  I'm not a morning person so don't even suggest getting up earlier.  Thanks.

So here's another Random Post, but this time It includes Photos.  What the heck I'll just make it into a Wordful Wednesday Post.. Head over to Seven CLown CIrcus for more posts!

I got tickled at Sean last night, he was playing with the dogs by wearing his head lamp (duck hunting accessory) It blinks blue and it was making the dogs excited. I took his picture and he got embarrassed when he realized I was watching.

(check out the beard) SEAN, SHAVE!

I took this picture at mom and dad's as the sun was setting.  Leah was deer hunting and got mad at me and told me I was spooking the deer. 

Except she used more colorful words.

Senior Pictures anyone?  I found a great spot!!

And of course what post is complete with out a picture of this beautiful little thing.

Happy Wednesday.

Random Thoughts

Random Ramblings...


1. How did I not know the Pioneer Woman Was coming to Little Rock? I can't believe I missed out on that.

2. Why does it go from 75 and sunny to 45 and rainy in one day. I swear Arkansas Weather has NO in-between stages!!

3. I really hope we win Lots of Money at the Final's Rodeo this weekend!! Neither Sean nor Frosty have practiced in a month so Outlook is Not good...


4. My Sister Killed an 8pt deer this morning off the back porch. Her 4 lb Yorkie, Gretchen, hunted with her.


5. I'm putting some of Dad's Awesome Vintage 1980's eel skin cowboy boots on eBay...any guesses on how much they will bring??


6. I saw a check for 5 Million dollars come through the Insurance company today for a huge fire loss. Have you ever seen a check for that much money?? Maybe they could lend me a couple hundred thou.. they wouldn't miss it.


7. I'm missing this little girl already!! I'll see her at Thanksgiving.

 8. I forgot to mention to my 5 readers the other day, DONT EVER LEAVE CHICKEN STOCK IN THE CABINET OPENED. I've been smelling this yucky smell every time I open my pantry and I kept thinking it was just the vinegar. I decided to clean it out and found that one of the boxes of Chicken stock was opened and put back into the pantry. Now, I'm not pointing any fingers here but there are two people that live in my house and I did NOT do this. It smelled so bad I almost gagged. Sean, for some reason, thought it would be ok to pour down the sink and when he did it stunk to high heaven. He had to run to the bathroom, where I think he threw up. The smell was horrible. We had to open every door and window in the house and light all 10 of our candles. It was horrible. Don't ever EVER do that. Thanks.


That's all the random thoughts I have for today. Have a good one!!

I Heart Faces

This weekend we celebrated Kinley's First Birthday.  We had so much fun!!  Kinley was in such a good mood after her party that Erin decided it was time for a photo shoot, and I'm always up for a photo shoot!!  This was the photo that I liked the most out of all of the cute photos Kinley Took.

This week I Heart Faces' contest is Autumn Beauty.  Even though the fall foliage isn't showing in this photo I think Kinley is the most beautiful part of this autumn photo! 

For more Autumn beauty photos check out I heart Faces

Ava Jayne's Post

Monday I blogged about Jack, today I'd like you to meet another beautiful baby I got to babysit, Miss Ava Jane.  Jack's Girlfriend ;)

Miss Ava Jayne belongs to Kacey, who's house hosted the Garage Sale this weekend.

Ava is the spunkiest, most curious, funniest little girl I've ever met.

She is a joy to be around, and will make you laugh out loud!

We colored all day and had to be extra quiet when Kinley was napping, which was suprisingly not difficult for this high entergy little girl. 

Her big round blue eyes and blonde hair will make you give her anything she wants and will not allow you to say no!

Ava is a very sweet and loving little girl, she always wants to give hugs and kisses to everyone! When I left she said in her precious voice, "I love you Jenna" and it made me want to take her home with me!! ha

If Ava is even half as funny as her Mommy and Aunt then she's gonna still going to be Hilarious!! She's gonna steal many hearts!!  She sang me a song about her cute smile and the last line was something like "back off boys, I'm not old enough yet"

Sooo funny!!

Thanks for a great weekend!! 

Now, if Only I can get Miss Kinley to quit her walking for a minute to let me snap more than one photo!!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Friday night I got to Baby sit Kinley, My cousin Erin's little one. I also got to babysit Sally, Erin's Dog niece. Sally is a Great Dane and HUGE (only like 7 months old) and Kinley is PRECIOUS. Kinley is Nine months tomorrow. She's at the curious stage and everything is exciting to her. I had the best time and she is such a good baby, didn't fuss at all! I only hope if I have children they will be a good and fun as Kinley was. I swear she is just the perfect little thing!

I did not let Kinley chew on a key chain all night because that was what made her happy. And I did not watch Baby Einstein over and over. I also did not let Kinley do and get whatever she wanted..because how do you say no to a face that sweet?

I did not break my diet and go out to eat with the Family before babysitting at a Mexican food restaurant Friday night. I wouldn't do that after two days of dieting!

I did not sleep until 1 on Saturday because that would be silly. I did not watch Confessions of a Shopaholic 6 times this weekend. No I did not say SIX times. That would be ridiculous. That movie is hilarious by the way.

I did not go to the Piano Bar on Saturday Night with my BFF Laci without Sean. And we did not spend way too much money and stay out all night..because that would be irresponsible.

I do not have the stinkiest dog in the world and I did not Give her a bath yesterday only to find her covered in mud from the creek an hour later.

I did not accidentally teach Birdie how to jump up onto the bed and Sean is not pissed about it at all. Now not only does she sleep with us a night, but all during the day she sleeps on the bed. (I do have a doggie blanket over the comforter)

I did not roll into work an hour late today because I didn't forget to set my alarm. I wouldn't do that... nope not me.

Sing Susan Sing

I do realize that everyone in the world has probably seen the video of the poor spinster, Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent, but I just have to post it and talk about it. This brought me to tears! I don't know why, I mean she does have a beautiful voice, but it was something else that brought me to tears. I think the fact that a simple woman, who has never been kissed and devoted her entire adult life to taking care of her parents finally got to show the world what she has. It makes you realize that God doesn't care about where you live or what you look like. He doesn't care about how smart you are or how good you dress. He gives special talents to all types of people. This lady uses her talent for the Lord also, the article I read said she is a devout Roman Catholic and sings in Church Choir. It makes me wonder, How many other people out there are hiding something so great just because people won't accept them for their looks or smarts? She seemed like a person who has such a good heart. Her neighbors all loved her, the local karaoke bar all loved her, and she was so excited to show everyone what she could do. I got tickled that one of her younger neighbors was excited for her but couldn't understand why she didn't fix her hair better. Who cares with talent like that!? I was just so moved by her performance, it was flawless and beautiful. It was like listening to innocence and purity.

"I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living,
So different now from what it seemed...
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed..."

I hope her dream is now restored!! Ok on to real life...


I spent this weekend in my home town with my parents. I took both the dogs and they had a blast. I on the other hand had less than a blast cleaning up the messes they made and trying to keep them out of the barn during the Horse show dad had on Saturday. Here are the puppies in the back seat. This is before we left, they slept the rest of the way so they were nice and wild when we got to my parents'.

Banjo really enjoyed hanging his head out of the window on the ride back home. And yes that is his lip flying in the wind in picture two.
Saturday Erin & Kinley were in town. I got to play with Kinley all evening and she was in the best mood. She is a precious little thing!Kinley fell asleep just like that in Dad's lap. I think she enjoyed relaxing.She how chubby her little cheeks are?! She's just precious. Notice my hair color. Not much different than it was. I was going to go really light then chickened out. Oh well maybe next time.

Kinley enjoyed grabbing my cheeks and my nose and my hair. She laughed the whole night!

Yesterday was a pretty day. Me and the chocolates went for a little 4-wheeler ride. I had to go really slow so Birdie could keep up. We drove down to the little pond in the pasture and let Banjo play in the water. Birdie played a little but isn't quite ready to swim yet. I swear she's grown an inch over the weekend! I took some pictures along the way of the longhorns and this years calves and some of my favorite weeds. The entire Circle T is covered in these yellow things. I had my wedding portraits made in the middle of the pasture surrounded in the yellow weeds last year around this time.

I also love these little purple weeds. You can barely make them out in this picture but Mom & Dad's pasture is covered in them!

Here are just a few of the calves.

Here are their mommas.

Well I hope you have a great Monday Afternoon. I'm working for the weekend..already.

Jenna T.

10 Visitors!

I added a counter to my blog on Friday! I've had 10 hits, which is funny because I'm pretty sure that nine of those are mine and the other one is Erin. Thanks Erin! Maybe one day more than just me and you will read this pointless blog! Maybe I should just write my blog like a letter to you since that's basically all it is. haha

Dear Erin,

What a busy day! I've worked non-stop all day long! That's a good thing though, it means I'm doing more business! Kinley looks Beautiful in your Easter Pictures. I can't believe how long her eyelashes are! I'm so jealous. I hope one day when I have children they are a beautiful as Kinley! Will you be in this weekend? If So let me know so I can come see Kinley (and you too) :) Hope you have a great day!

Jenna T.